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UAE, Palestine Sign Agreement to Boost Anti-Money Laundering Efforts, Strengthen Regulatory Systems

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, and Yehya Shunnar, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority and Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, during a meeting with officials. (WAM)
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, and Yehya Shunnar, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority and Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, during a meeting with officials. (WAM)
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UAE, Palestine Sign Agreement to Boost Anti-Money Laundering Efforts, Strengthen Regulatory Systems

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, and Yehya Shunnar, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority and Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, during a meeting with officials. (WAM)
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, and Yehya Shunnar, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority and Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, during a meeting with officials. (WAM)

The United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority signed on Friday a cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening joint efforts to combat money laundering and enhance economic and regulatory frameworks.

The agreement was reached during a bilateral meeting between Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, and Yehya Shunnar, Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority and Chairman of the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee.

Held at the Ministry of Economy’s headquarters in Dubai, the meeting explored ways to deepen cooperation and exchange expertise in supervisory and regulatory policies. Discussions also covered global trends in financial crime and their impact on the stability of economic systems.

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), both sides stressed the importance of aligning with international best practices and launching joint training initiatives to build specialized capacity. The goal is to enhance institutional readiness to address evolving financial crime threats and to reinforce investor confidence and financial integrity.

Al Marri highlighted the UAE’s strides in modernizing its legal and regulatory architecture to meet international anti-money laundering standards.

He pointed to the country’s recent achievements, including its removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and the European Parliament’s list of high-risk jurisdictions.

The minister reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to sharing its experience with the Palestinian Authority to help bolster its economic security and advance its financial oversight systems.

The meeting also showcased the UAE’s National Economic Register project, known as “Namo,” which provides a unified, reliable digital database of all commercial licenses across the country.

Officials discussed efforts to standardize procedures for identifying beneficial ownership and to boost oversight of designated non-financial businesses and professions, including real estate brokers, precious metals dealers, accountants, and corporate service providers.

Both parties agreed to continue coordination and knowledge-sharing in this critical sector, emphasizing the importance of building sustainable economic systems and fostering stronger bilateral cooperation in transparency, governance, and financial integration.

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Business

Iraq Says It Transported 2 Million Barrels of Crude Through Strait of Hormuz

A drone view shows vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Iraq Says It Transported 2 Million Barrels of Crude Through Strait of Hormuz

A drone view shows vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Iraq's state-owned Oil Tanker Company transported 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude aboard a very large crude carrier (VLCC) through the Strait of Hormuz, in what its director general described on Saturday as the company's first such operation in ‌decades.

The ‌announcement means the company ‌is ⁠transporting the crude through ⁠the strait rather than delivering it at the port of Basra, giving state oil marketer SOMO greater flexibility in how and where it sells ⁠the crude.

The company's ‌director general, ‌Ali Qais Abdul Jabbar, said in ‌a statement that the move ‌could allow SOMO to take advantage of better sales and pricing opportunities.

Iraq's Oil Tanker Company is ‌also working to buy and own specialized crude oil ⁠tankers ⁠to expand its fleet and strengthen its ability to compete with regional shipping companies, he added.

Iraq has previously secured Iranian permission for Iraqi oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed during its conflict with the US.

Business

'Handful' of G20 Countries Reject US Stance on Excess Industrial Capacity

US Trade Representative Jamison Greer speaks on the second day of the G20 Trade Ministerial Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 1 (AFP)
US Trade Representative Jamison Greer speaks on the second day of the G20 Trade Ministerial Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 1 (AFP)
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'Handful' of G20 Countries Reject US Stance on Excess Industrial Capacity

US Trade Representative Jamison Greer speaks on the second day of the G20 Trade Ministerial Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 1 (AFP)
US Trade Representative Jamison Greer speaks on the second day of the G20 Trade Ministerial Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 1 (AFP)

A "handful" of Group of 20 trade ministers rejected US calls to curb excess industrial capacity and "non-market" policies, the US Trade Representative's office said on Friday, exposing divisions within the group of major economies.

The US, this year's G20 chair, issued the statement a day after a trade meeting in Milwaukee that revealed that only two countries — Mexico and Argentina — signed on to a US-led statement calling for more work and cooperation to eliminate goods produced with forced labor from supply chains, Reuters reported.

The rejection from the vast majority of G20 countries follows the Trump administration's imposition of ‌tariffs of 10% or ‌12.5% on goods from 59 countries and the European Union over allegations ‌that ⁠they fail to ⁠adequately enforce bans on forced labor.

USTR also is conducting a second "Section 301" tariff investigation into 16 trading partners that show signs of excess industrial capacity. The probe is widely expected to lead to new duties in coming months.

The USTR statement did not name countries that objected to the excess-capacity statement. But China had objected to a similar G20 statement denouncing forced labor and non-market economic policies that lead to excessive exports at a finance leaders' meeting a month ago in North Carolina.

"The draft ministerial statement was supported by all but a handful ⁠of members, a few of whom firmly rejected creating this pathway toward cooperative ‌action" on excess capacity, the statement said, adding that this "severely ‌disappointed" the US G20 presidency.

China's excess industrial capacity and industrial subsidies have been key themes of the US-led G20 ministerial ‌meetings so far this year. Beijing has rejected claims that its industrial policies have created excess capacity, ‌accusing Western countries of using the issue to justify protectionist measures.

The US said that G20 trade ministers reached consensus on denouncing the weaponization of food trade, with members agreeing that trade in food or agricultural inputs should not be used as a tool for economic or political coercion.

In that G20 joint statement, the ministers defined the weaponization of ‌food as measures to "slow, stop, block or direct the flow of food and agricultural inputs" to exert coercive pressure to extract unrelated geopolitical concessions.

"We ⁠condemn food weaponization, as ⁠it poses a significant humanitarian and economic threat," the G20 trade ministers said.

After pressure from US President Donald Trump that included the threat of a US diesel export ban, Group of Seven countries on Friday agreed to release some 100 million barrels of diesel reserves to try to drive down record-high US diesel prices. The fuel is widely used in agricultural production.

TARIFF STRUCTURE DISCUSSIONS

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday that he did not seek a joint statement on a fourth discussion topic, reforming the "most favored nation" system of published, unconditional global tariff rates that underpin the World Trade Organization. MFN tariffs have defined the global trading system since the end of World War Two.

Greer has argued that the MFN principle has been abused by non-market-oriented economies such as China that have subsidized industries, but it does not allow these countries to be treated differently.

The US statement said some G20 members had expressed a willingness to consider changes to MFN, including expanding exceptions to the principle and issuing new legal interpretations to enable greater use of existing exceptions.

Business

DOJ Will Not Reopen Criminal Probe into Fed's Powell

(FILES) US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
(FILES) US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
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DOJ Will Not Reopen Criminal Probe into Fed's Powell

(FILES) US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
(FILES) US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

The US Justice Department is not reopening a criminal probe into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cost overruns related to the central bank's building renovation project, a DOJ spokesperson said on Friday.

Attorney General Todd Blanche, in comments to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development, said he ‌has not ruled out ‌continuing to look into ‌the ⁠project's oversight and potentially ⁠take action if evidence of wrongdoing came to light.

The Fed's Inspector General on Wednesday said it found no grounds for a criminal referral or evidence of administrative misconduct tied to the project cost overruns, ⁠but its conclusion there was lax ‌oversight drew a ‌fresh call from President Donald Trump for Powell's ‌resignation. Powell has remained at the ‌Fed as a governor since stepping down as chair in May.

His successor Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Thursday he would hire an independent ‌auditor to "verify accuracy and compliance" for all of the project's costs.

Blanche told ⁠Bloomberg ⁠News that if this new review finds any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the Justice Department could investigate.

At his final press conference as Fed chief in April, Powell said he would not leave the Board "until this investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality."

A Fed spokesperson had no immediate comment on Blanche's statements.